Notes from Fort Bragg -- racism v. justice in Danny Chen's death (I)
Danny Chen was American by birth AND by choice. He defied his
parents' objection to join the Army. But he was RACIALLY brutalized
to committing suicide by his fellow American soldiers who were his
superiors. The first culprit got a slap on the wrist. Outrageous! S. B. Woo* and Diana Ting will be going to Fort Bragg, attending the second trial. They'll report to you daily. Will they be seeing justice or racism or something in between?
Woo* & Ting* will be at Fort Bragg (FB) for the duration of the trial for 5 days.
We heard from many supporters from all components of our Community, including Japanese- & Vietnamese- Am community. Go see what they have to say, click on http://80-20nj.info/cgi/dm/8/bb/b85.
One supporter by the first name of Priscilla emailed, " You are very brave and I'm praying for your courage." To which SB replied, " 'There is nothing to fear except fear itself.' - Franklin D Roosevelt "
Our morale was boosted. An email from Charles Zhang of Michigan, who has donated more than 30,000 to 80-20, stated, "My son Mitchell (a high school student) said if you needed, he would fly over to attend the trial with you and help Diana . . . . My wife Lynn can come over with him. I have a big client event I have to attend on the 14th, after which I can join you guys." They are role models. We need that spirit.
More people from Fort Bragg area are volunteering to attend the trial to support.
To get into the Court: Any citizen with a state-issued photo I.D. e.g a driver's license. When: Any time when you arrive.
Are Danny Chen & Harry Lew's suicides isolated event? No! It seems widespread. See following messages. Their names & e-addresses are withheld by Woo.
(1) "I served in 2 Combat theaters in 1965 and had PTSD. But my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was not from Santo Domingo or Vietnam. It was from discrimination and harassment by my First Sergeant in the 73rd Transport Co, US Army Fort Eustis, Virginia. This was due to my being Asian American, an ABC, . . . "
(2) "As an AsAm who served in U.S. Marine Corps, I witnessed a lot of racial discriminations against Asians. . . . a Staff Sgt. on stage was asking fellow Marines to "tell a Chinese joke." . . . the most derogatory, dehumanizing racist, sexist joke was told on the stage, while several hundreds of Marine in the audiences just laughed. None of the high rank officers on the scene stepped up to stop this kind of racial harassment. One of my buddy (Caucasian) next me said "You should say something." I regret not standing up and shouting back . . . They should at the minimum be expelled from the Army and sentenced to 2nd degree manslaughter. Shame on . . . "
(1) "I served in 2 Combat theaters in 1965 and had PTSD. But my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was not from Santo Domingo or Vietnam. It was from discrimination and harassment by my First Sergeant in the 73rd Transport Co, US Army Fort Eustis, Virginia. This was due to my being Asian American, an ABC, . . . "
(2) "As an AsAm who served in U.S. Marine Corps, I witnessed a lot of racial discriminations against Asians. . . . a Staff Sgt. on stage was asking fellow Marines to "tell a Chinese joke." . . . the most derogatory, dehumanizing racist, sexist joke was told on the stage, while several hundreds of Marine in the audiences just laughed. None of the high rank officers on the scene stepped up to stop this kind of racial harassment. One of my buddy (Caucasian) next me said "You should say something." I regret not standing up and shouting back . . . They should at the minimum be expelled from the Army and sentenced to 2nd degree manslaughter. Shame on . . . "
Wish us luck. Pray for justice! Talk to you tomorrow.
SB and Diana
*Lt. Governor of DE (1985 to 89) & President of National Asian Am. Educational Foundation, Inc. Ting is Woo's Special Assistant.
